Is It Too Late?: A Theology of Ecology Page: 23
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THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY
Earlier generations stressed the tension between science and Christian theol-
ogy. Often their purpose was to discredit Christianity. They thought of science as
a product of a reason free from religious faith or they attributed it to the Greek
influence in the Renaissance. But more careful consideration from a less preju-
diced point of view shows that the development of science in the West began in
the high Middle Ages. It was continuous with the rest of the cultural activity and
conviction of the time, and this was profoundly shaped by Christianity. The minds
of the scientists were certainly free; but so were those of the philosophers and
theologians of the period. A free mind is not one that is unaffected by its history
or by the climate of opinion of its time.
Science can flourish when people believe that behind the apparent randomness
or willfulness of phenomena there is an enduring order to be discovered. The
understanding of reality as cosmos enabled the Greeks to make a brilliant start in
the development of science, but on the whole, they preferred rational deductions
to painstaking investigation of the facts. Islam made contributions-especially in
medicine.
But it was the Western Christian view of nature as the creation of an intelligent
will that provided the context and motivation for the sustained and patient effort,
divorced from all consideration of practical results, that carried Western European
science from its infancy in the Middle Ages to the amazing achievements of the
seventeenth century. Because nature was seen as God's creation, one knew that
it embodied rational and intelligible order. Furthermore, the discovery of that
order was of supreme value since it led to knowledge of God himself.
Aspects of Christian belief have thus been responsible for Western European
advances in both technology and science. Whereas that might have sounded like
boasting a short time ago, in the light of our present problems it has the ring of
confession. In this connection, there is still another basic aspect of Christian belief
that has played its role in bringing history to its present pass. The Judeo-Christian
tradition has deeply implanted in the Western psyche the idea that every human
individual is of absolute value. Of course, the actions of nations and individuals
have repeatedly violated this principle. But that is not the point. The positive effect
of the principle on national and individual action has been enormous. Vast efforts
have been expended to keep alive human beings whether or not they are able to
make a contribution to society. A large portion of scientific and technological
advancement has been successfully directed toward the conquest of disease and
the prolongation of life. The Westernization of the globe in this respect has played
a major role in the vast increase in worldwide population in the last fifty years.
When this high appraisal of the value of the human individual is brought
together, as it has been in Western Christianity, with the view that humans are
called to dominate the nonhuman world, this world is still further reduced in value.
Indeed, it has been denied any value in itself. Its value lies entirely in its usefulness
to people. Only human beings have intrinsic worth. The value of the nonhuman
world is purely instrumental.Chapter 4
23
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Cobb, John B., Jr. Is It Too Late?: A Theology of Ecology, book, 1995; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc52175/m1/25/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Center For Environmental Philosophy.